Cognitive Test time pressure: when to skip and when to push

The Cognitive Test is more about pace than difficulty. Most candidates know the material — they just run out of time on the back third.

The skip rule

If you've spent 30 seconds on a question and don't have a clear path to the answer, skip. The expected value of staying is negative: you'll likely guess wrong and lose 30 more seconds of clock.

Recovery from a slow start

If you finish the first 10 minutes having answered only 18 questions when the pace target is 25, you have two options:

Option 1 — Accelerate uniformly. Drop 10 seconds off every remaining question. Risky if accuracy slips.

Option 2 — Skip aggressively. Mark the next 5 hard-looking questions as skips immediately and bank time. This is usually the better choice.

Per-question time budget

• Numerical: 45 seconds average.
• Verbal: 90 seconds average.
• Logical: 30 seconds average.

These are averages — a 20-second numerical win banks 25 seconds for a hard one.

Negative marking

If negative marking is on (varies by version), don't guess on skipped questions at the end. If negative marking is off, fill every blank with your best guess.

The middle-third trap

Most candidates pace correctly in the first third, slow down in the middle, and panic in the last third. The fix is to set yourself a 33% checkpoint — if you're behind, accelerate immediately, don't wait until 66%.

Drill the pace

Run a full 30-minute mock with the clock visible. Note your accuracy in 10-minute blocks. Most candidates drop accuracy in block 2 (minutes 10–20). That's where the fix is needed.